Complete list of Altium Designer 13 updates

1 Version (v3.0) February 1, 2013

Table of Contents

Altium Designer Version 13.0 – February 1, 2013 ................................................................................................................... 3

Key highlights ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 System Components: Altium Designer Base ....................................................................................................................................... 3 System Components: Altium Designer Installation System ................................................................................................................. 4 System Components: Altium Designer Localization ............................................................................................................................. 4 System Components: PCB Support ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 System Components: PCB System ........................................................................................................................................................ 4 System Components: Soft Design System ............................................................................................................................................ 4 System Components: Data Management ............................................................................................................................................ 5 System Components: Schematic System ............................................................................................................................................. 5 PCB Design Tools: Microchip mTouch .................................................................................................................................................. 5 Importers and Exporters: Importer - Expedition .................................................................................................................................. 5 Embedded Design Tools: Software platform ........................................................................................................................................ 5 Hardware Support Packages: Device Support - Xilinx Spartan-6 .......................................................................................................... 5 Embedded Design Tools: TASKING TSK3000 ........................................................................................................................................ 6 Embedded Design Tools: TASKING Core .............................................................................................................................................. 6 Development updating various modules ............................................................................................................................................. 6

Altium Designer Version 13.1 – February 28, 2013 ................................................................................................................. 6

System Components: Altium Designer Base ........................................................................................................................................ 6 System Components: Altium Designer Installation System ................................................................................................................. 7 System Components: Data Management ............................................................................................................................................ 7 System Components: Altium Designer Localization ............................................................................................................................. 7 System Components: PCB Support ...................................................................................................................................................... 7 System Components: PCB System ........................................................................................................................................................ 7 System Components: Schematic System ............................................................................................................................................. 8 System Components: Soft Design System ............................................................................................................................................ 8 Data Management Packages Version Control - SVN ............................................................................................................................ 8 Output Generators: Printer - PCB ......................................................................................................................................................... 8 Output Generators: Output - NC-Drill .................................................................................................................................................. 8 Output Generators: Output - Gerber ................................................................................................................................................... 9 Output Generators: Output - ODB ....................................................................................................................................................... 9 Output Generators: Output - STEP ....................................................................................................................................................... 9 Embedded Design Tools: Software platform ........................................................................................................................................ 9 Embedded Design Tools: Software Platform R10 ................................................................................................................................. 9 Embedded Design Tools: TASKING TSK3000 ........................................................................................................................................ 9 Embedded Design Tools: TASKING MicroBlaze .................................................................................................................................... 9 Embedded Design Tools: TASKING NiosII ............................................................................................................................................. 9 Embedded Design Tools: TASKING PowerPC ........................................................................................................................................ 9 Development updating various modules ............................................................................................................................................. 9

Altium Designer Version 13.2 – May 10, 2013 ........................................................................................................................ 9

Key highlights ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 System Components: Data Management .......................................................................................................................................... 11 System Components: Altium Designer Base ...................................................................................................................................... 12 System Components: PCB System ...................................................................................................................................................... 13 System Components: Altium Designer Installation System ............................................................................................................... 13 System Components: PCB Support .................................................................................................................................................... 14 System Components: Schematic System ........................................................................................................................................... 14 System Components: Schematic Support .......................................................................................................................................... 14


Output Generators: Printer - PCB ....................................................................................................................................................... 14 Output Generators: Output - ODB ..................................................................................................................................................... 14 Output Generators: Output - STEP ..................................................................................................................................................... 14 Output Generators: Output - Gerber ................................................................................................................................................. 14 Output Generators: Output - AdvSim ................................................................................................................................................ 15 Importers and Exporters: Importer_Accel ......................................................................................................................................... 15 Importers and Exporters: Importer - Allegro...................................................................................................................................... 15 FPGA Design Tools: Instrument – Custom .......................................................................................................................................... 15 System Components: Soft Design System .......................................................................................................................................... 15 Hardware Support Packages: Device Support - STMicroelectronics STM32 ...................................................................................... 15

Altium Designer Version 13.3 – June 13, 2013 ...................................................................................................................... 15

Key highlights ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 15 System Components: Altium Designer Base ...................................................................................................................................... 16 System Components: Data Management .......................................................................................................................................... 16 System Components: Schematic System ........................................................................................................................................... 17 System Components: PCB System ...................................................................................................................................................... 17 System Components: Soft Design System .......................................................................................................................................... 17 System Components: Soft Design Support ......................................................................................................................................... 17 System Components: Altium Designer Localization ........................................................................................................................... 17 System Components: Altium Designer Support ................................................................................................................................. 17 Importers and Exporters: Importer_Accel ......................................................................................................................................... 17 Importers and Exporters: Importer - PADS ........................................................................................................................................ 18 Importers and Exporters: Importer - PCAD ASCII ............................................................................................................................... 18 Output Generators: Printer - PCB ...................................................................................................................................................... 18 Output Generators: Output - Simple BOM ........................................................................................................................................ 18 Output Generators: Output - ERC ..................................................................................................................................................... 18 Output Generators: Output - NC - Drill ............................................................................................................................................. 18 Output Generators: Output - Testpoint ............................................................................................................................................ 18 Data Management Packages: Supplier - Farnell ................................................................................................................................. 19


Release Notes for Updates in Altium Designer 2013

Altium Designer Version 13.0 – February 1, 2013

Key highlights

Project document previews

A new Workspace View (View>>Workspace) has been added showing a graphical preview of all the documents contained

within an open Project . (shortcut: CTRL+`).

PCB object and Layer transparency settings

New PCB object and Layer transparency settings have been added to the View Configurations dialog.

Outline vertices editor for PCB Polygon Pours

New outline vertices editor for Polygon Pour, Polygon Cutout and Solid Region objects.

PCB "Silk To Solder Mask Clearance" design rule

A new "Silk To Solder Mask Clearance" rule with new checking modes (to exposed copper and to solder mask openings) has

been added. SilkscreenOverComponentPads rules in existing designs are auto-converted with parameters set to match legacy

behavior.

Schematic Pin name/designator position, font and color customization

The pin name and designator position, font and color can now be customized individually.

Port height and font control

Port height, border width and text font can now be individually controlled.

BOM outputs contain vault-defined supply chain information

Vault-defined supply chain information is now available for BOM outputs.

Smart PDF documents contain component parameters

Clicking on a component in a PDF file produced by Smart PDF will display the parameters of that component.

Hyperlink text support in Schematic documents

Hyperlinks are now supported in the schematic editor.

Microchip Touch Controls support

Support for Microchip Touch Controls has been added.

System Components: Altium Designer Base

276 VHDL/Verilog netlisters have been improved. Port to sheet entry connection via bus wire on schematic generates correct hdl for buses of size [0..0].

277 A new Workspace View (View>>Workspace) has been added showing a graphical preview of all the documents contained within an open Project . (shortcut: CTRL+`).

283 Vault-defined supply chain information is now available for BOM outputs.

304 Color PCB PDF files are no longer wrongly created when Monchrome is selected.

307 When generating a component library from a schlibrary, duplicate footprint links are no longer created.

315 The performance of opening documents via https has been greatly improved. View BugCrunch report #1569.

317 Environment variables can now be used to define paths in Preferences.

318 Unicode characters are now properly supported in generated PDF files. View BugCrunch report #587.

338 The Component Library generator is now available directly from the Schematic and the DBLib library editors.

http://bugcrunch.live.altium.com/#Bug/1569




339 The error "Failed to add part to global catalog" when managing a part supply chain information does not occur anymore. View BugCrunch report #900.

340 Component Libraries can now be created from a database library.

342 An error no longer occurs when adding a Part choice list for an item the name of which previously existed in a vault.

350 The report spreadsheet generated from the ShowDifference command is now compatible with Office 2007.

362 Changes have been made to allow simulation models to be found within other integrated libraries when a specific location is not specified.

422 Clicking on a component in a PDF file produced by SmartPDF will display the parameters of that component. View BugCrunch report #945.

System Components: Altium Designer Installation System

443 Plug-ins and updates page; feedback is now provided when pressing the Update All button (this will take affect with subsequent updates).

System Components: Altium Designer Localization

642 Localization of Altium Designer updated: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese.

718 Updated Korean localization of Altium Designer.

System Components: PCB Support

495 IPC Compliant Footprint Wizard now positions the component in the center of the screen.

System Components: PCB System

54 New outline vertices editor for Polygon Pour, Polygon Cutout and Solid Region objects.

151 A new "Silk To Solder Mask Clearance" rule with new checking modes (to exposed copper and to solder mask openings) has been added. SilkscreenOverComponentPads rules in existing designs are auto-converted with parameters set to match legacy behavior.

154 Exposed PCB object Draw quality (show/hide) in the API. Function IPCB_Board.DrawMode[ObjectId] was added, and fixed function PCBServer.SystemOptions.DrawMode[ObjectId] to return correct property. View BugCrunch report #1464.

297 New pre-defined 3D rotations (Top, Ortho, Front, Left, Right, Back) have been added to the PCB toolbar. Orthogonal rotation has been added to the PCB View menu when in 3D mode. View BugCrunch report #813.

329 New PCB object and Layer transparency settings have been added to the View Configurations dialog.

352 Expression error no longer occurs when using FSO or Inspector without a leading whole value.

386 When rotating a solid region in the PCB Editor, the region's hole are now properly rotated.

419 Undeclared Identifier error no longer occurs when using FSO with Embedded Board Array. View BugCrunch report #517.

451 PCB Heads up Display now updates the X Y values when moving cursor with keyboard arrows.

480 3D Rotation mode drop down menu has been updated to with the following options; Top Side, Bottom Side, Front Edge, Back Edge, Left Edge, Right Edge and Isometric.

492 PCB Measure Primitives command now works with locked objects when protect locked objects preference is turned on.

664 Smart Grid Insert in PCB List Panel now inserts objects on the correct layers.

System Components: Soft Design System

279 HDL Project option "Use Verilog 95" is correctly passed to Synplify synthesizer. Deselecting option enables Verilog 2001 mode.










286 Creating sheet symbol from VHDL containing port declarations without mode (in, out, inout) specifier has been improved and created sheet entries are of input mode now.

System Components: Data Management

283 Vault-defined supply chain information is now available for BOM outputs.

339 The error "Failed to add part to global catalog" when managing a part supply chain information does not occur anymore. View BugCrunch report #900.

341 When updating a design with vault-based data using the Item Manager, the current footprint is now properly taken into account.

342 An error no longer occurs when adding a Part choice list for an item the name of which previously existed in a vault.

358 Characters used in components and models names are no longer restricted when releasing them to vaults.

System Components: Schematic System

300 Project parameters form has been improved. View BugCrunch report #1254.

301 An option is now available to use the part location as the reference for schematic annotation. View BugCrunch report #357.

303 Schematic Blanket objects can now be placed as polygon shapes.

338 The Component Library generator is now available directly from the Schematic and the DBLib library editors.

350 The report spreadsheet generated from the ShowDifference command is now compatible with Office 2007.

381 Port height, border width and text font can now be individually controlled. View BugCrunch report #1782. View BugCrunch report #1687. View BugCrunch report #1190. View BugCrunch report #544.

403 The pin name and designator position, font and color can now be customized individually. View BugCrunch report #981.

404 Hyperlinks are now supported in the schematic editor.

599 Schematic Inspector and List panels now display the font name, size and style instead of FontID.

677 The Change Font button in schematic object dialogs has been changed to an edit link that also shows the chosen font details.

PCB Design Tools: Microchip mTouch

116 Support for Microchip Touch Controls has been added.

Importers and Exporters: Importer - Expedition

601 Mentor Expedition PCB and library importers now support custom pad shapes.

Embedded Design Tools: Software platform

261 Software Platform now supports JPG encoding and JPG decoding in software.

280 Software Platform was upgraded to lwIP version 1.4.0.

282 Software Platform now supports HTTPS by means of MatrixSSL sources (GPL license).

298 The mkfs for FAT filesystem now releases the allocated entry from the file descriptor table.

Hardware Support Packages: Device Support - Xilinx Spartan-6

290 Build errors during PAR when using LAX and targeting Spartan6 devices have been resolved.













Embedded Design Tools: TASKING TSK3000

258 The TSK3000 debugger now supports hardware code breakpoints in Flash memory.

Embedded Design Tools: TASKING Core

281 Embedded project linker option for global type checking is switched on by default.

Development updating various modules

151 A new "Silk To Solder Mask Clearance" rule with new checking modes (to exposed copper and to solder mask openings) has been added. SilkscreenOverComponentPads rules in existing designs are auto-converted with parameters set to match legacy behavior.

154 Exposed PCB object Draw quality (show/hide) in the API. Function IPCB_Board.DrawMode[ObjectId] was added, and fixed function PCBServer.SystemOptions.DrawMode[ObjectId] to return correct property. View BugCrunch report #1464.

288 TSK3000A CPU has been extended with support for hardware code breakpoints.

289 Wishbone SPI cores have been updated to enable Push Registers to IO blocks optimization during PAR.

437 Microchip MTouch configurable component support has been added.

Altium Designer Version 13.1 – February 28, 2013

This update brings improvements to a number of areas affecting stability and performance. The Altium

Installer has also been greatly improved to work with anti-virus software.


307 FPGA Project mapping to vault items dialog has been disabled.

313 The "Extruded 3D body conversion to generic STEP model" option has been enabled.

316 Unnecessary project compilation has been reduced in the following areas. Update from PCB Libraries, PCB Release View, Output Jobs, Harness Problem Finder, Annotate, Default Print Configuration, Component Links, View Channels, Parameter Manager, Footprint. View BugCrunch report #1183.

319 Saving constraint file paths in FPGA projects is now compatible with AD12.

562 Fixed an issue causing an incorrect or blank output path in both new and existing projects.

731 An option has been added to suppress output of component parameters when exporting to PDF.

746 A crash when using the All Off command to de-selected items in the Sch Item Manager has been resolved through investigation of a crash report.

774 A crash occurring during certain sequences of output generation has been resolved through investigation of a crash report.

775 Through investigation of crash reports a Access Violation occurring in version control that could occur upon opening of documents has been resolved.

776 A crash that could occur generating a report from the configuration dialog of BOM style outputs has been resolved through investigation of a crash report.

782 HTML based reports including DRC and File Format warnings now open in a new tab rather than replacing the home page.

786 A crash during opening of the DXP menu has been resolved through investigation of a crash report.






787 A crash occurring upon wake from system hibernate has been resolved through investigation of a crash report.

797 A crash when closing a modified PCB document with the automatic saving option enabled has been resolved.

798 A crash in copying data from various grids with a subset of columns selected has been resolved through investigation of a crash report.

814 A crash in wire optimization during drag operations in schematic has been fixed through investigation of several crash reports.

822 Fixed a "canvas does not allow drawing" error during print preview through investigation of a crash report.

827 AD12 Configurations are now correctly loaded into AD 2013. View BugCrunch report #2460.

840 Crash reports generated within the PCB editor due to large floating values have been resolved.

877 Improved the generation of PDF reports when zero byte files where produced in some situations.


310 Locate and install missing plugins now working properly.

717 An error that could occur when adding plugins has been resolved through investigation of a crash report.

768 Installing from Local and Network repositories has been improved.


745 A Division by Zero error has been resolved when using copy/ paste operations in the CmpLib editor.

792 The Generate CompLib command was available when the incorrect document type was visible and caused a crash when run. The visibility has been corrected.

794 A Cannot make a visible window modal error when attempting to move a folder in the vault explorer has been resolved.

845 The choose item revision dialog always displays all revisions appropriately.


829 Updated Japanese localization of Altium Designer..


801 Memory corruption that could occur when changing the color of component bodies through the PCB Inspector has been resolved through investigation of a crash report.

802 An AV occurring when Signal Integrity was run on a project containing duplicate designators has been resolved through investigation of a crash report.

823 An AV when saving or exporting CAM files has been resolved through investigation of crash reports.


843 Memory allocation when working with polygons has been improved.


593 The performance and reliability of the Silk to Soldermask rule has been improved

706 A menu entry has been added to the Options Popup to jump directly to the Transparency Tab of the Board Layers and Colors dialog.

759 An AV when dragging parallel tracks when one of the selected tracks is not connected to any others has been resolved through investigation of a crash report.

766 A crash on close has been resolved through investigation of several crash reports.

770 A regression issue setting the selection when dragging multiple tracks has been corrected. The newly added tracks are now selected as before.




789 Invalid STEP files are now handled gracefully when placing 3D bodies.

799 Find Similar Objects now creates the correct expressions for match based on coordinates.


804 An AV that could occur loading certain PCBDoc and PCBLib documents containing Component Bodies has been resolved through investigation of a crash report.

811 An AV occurring when creating a snippet from objects on internal planes has been resolved through investigation of a crash report.

847 Circles now display properly on PCB footprint previews.

823 An AV when saving or exporting CAM files has been resolved through investigation of crash reports.




560 Overlapping text in the Synchronize Ports to Sheets Entries has been fixed.

646 The No ERC and Schematic Component dialogs have been updated to accommodate scaled displays.

660 Sheet entries are now positioned correctly when using Smart Paste in Schematic.

674 Placing wires, lines and polygonal blankets in schematic now completes closed loops after right click.

698 Attributes missing from the Schematic Inspector for Rectangle, Text Frame, Compile Mask and Blanket objects are now visible.

703 Find similar objects can now correctly use the font property to match objects.


813 A crash when attempting to exit with the Schematic inplace editor is active has been resolved through investigation of a crash report.



316 Rescanning JTAG chain is now much faster.

320 Toolchain and device names are saved in the embedded project document to improve backward compatibility with AD12.


Data Management Packages Version Control - SVN

771 The Use External SVN preference is now sticking correctly.

Output Generators: Printer - PCB


Output Generators: Output - NC-Drill




Output Generators: Output - Gerber


Output Generators: Output - ODB


Output Generators: Output - STEP

676 A hang up when exporting some PCB documents to STEP has been resolved.


Embedded Design Tools: Software platform

308 SDHC driver in Software Platform now has a correct include and help files.

328 CANopen configurator is now enabled.

Embedded Design Tools: Software Platform R10

328 CANopen configurator is now enabled.

Embedded Design Tools: TASKING TSK3000

311 Embedded compilers issue warning W557 correctly.

Embedded Design Tools: TASKING MicroBlaze


Embedded Design Tools: TASKING NiosII


Embedded Design Tools: TASKING PowerPC


Development updating various modules

765 Failure of several importers to run due to an interface not supported error has been resolved.

767 The Create Installation Repository command now uses the correct (AD 2013) version of the installer.

Altium Designer Version 13.2 – May 10, 2013



Key highlights

The following is a list of key new features and enhancements, delivered in this latest update.

Core Technologies

ActiveBOM ActiveBOM is a tool that facilitates real-time cost estimation and tracking for a board design, by giving the designer a clear picture of cost and availability of all items associated with that design.

Live Drill Drawing Table

A WYSIWYG live drill table that dynamically updates in real-time, as hole-containing objects such as pads and vias are placed on and removed from the PCB design.

PCB Design View A specific, scalable view that allows the designer to place a snapshot of any rectangular shaped region of the current board, or another board, anywhere within the workspace.

Define Output Filenames using Expressions Support for user-defined output filenames using a concatenation of special strings and user-defined project parameters.

Interactive Net Length Calculation The current net length is available when interactively routing a net, and when interactively modifying an existing route.

Via Stitching Enhancements

Introducing the concept of a smarter Via Stitch Union, with all stitching vias added to a net automatically clustered into a union, allowing for better editing of stitching properties, without having to delete and stitch again.

New Separator for Schematic Designator Suffix

Extending the numeric suffix support for multi-part schematic components, by adding the choice of a dot as the suffix separator.

Design Data Management

Vault-based Simulation Models

Bringing support for defining and releasing simulation models to an Altium Vault. A simulation model is defined within a

SimModel file (*.SimModel) on the design-side, and linked to a Simulation Model Item within a target vault.

Add a Simulation Model to a Component Definition

Ability to add a simulation model to a component definition within a Component Library (*.CmpLib), including component-level

simulation parameter definition and configuration of pin mapping.

SimModel File Generation from the Active Schematic Library

Altium Designer's Schematic Library editor provides the ability to generate one or more SimModel files from the active Schematic Library document.

SimModel File Generation from the Active Database Library

Altium Designer's Database Library editor provides the ability to generate one or more SimModel files from the active Database Library document.

CmpLib Editor Enhancements

A number of enhancements to the editing capabilities within the Component Library Editor, to further streamline the definition of components therein.

Item Manager Enhancements A number of enhancements to the Item Manager dialog, including the ability to detect and manage Items that are out-of-date, and the ability to generate a HTML-formatted 'snapshot report' of the current listing.

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/ActiveBOM

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/Live+Drill+Drawing+Table

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/PCB+Design+View

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/Define+Output+Filenames+using+Expressions

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/Interactive+Net+Length+Calculation

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/Via+Stitching+Enhancements

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/New+Separator+for+Schematic+Designator+Suffix

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/A+Walk+Through...Releasing+a+Simulation+Model+Definition+to+an+Altium+Vault

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/Adding+a+Simulation+Model+to+a+Component+Definition

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/CmpLib+Editor+Enhancements

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/Detecting+and+Reporting+Out+of+Date+Items+in+the+Item+Manager



Batch Download of Items from a Vault Ability to select multiple Items in an Altium Vault, and have the source entities for those Items downloaded, en masse, into a newly created, and linked, single source library, or folder, as applicable.

Ability to Identify Out-of-Date Vault Items

A number of subtle but useful enhancements to more easily identify and update out-of-date items.

Ability to Rename Lifecycle Definition and Item Revision Naming Schemes

Ability to modify the name of existing (and used) lifecycle definitions and revision naming schemes at any stage.

Ability to Set ID for Initial Revision of a Vault Item

Ability to manually set the ID for the initial revision of a newly-created Item in an Altium Vault.

Enhanced Vault Searching

The Vault search feature has been substantially upgraded, with the introduction of Grouping, Column-based filtering, and a powerful Filter panel.

Drag and Drop Placement from the Vaults Panel Ability to drag & drop revisions of Component or Managed Sheet Items onto the active schematic document, directly from the Vaults panel.

Altium Content Vault The previous Altium Hobart and Altium Shanghai vaults have been amalgamated to deliver Altium's content through a single vault – the Altium Content Vault.

Altium Vault Server

The following features and enhancements are delivered through version 1.1 of the Altium Vault Server:

Altium Vault Server - Administration Improvements

Improvements to administration of the vault through its browser-based interface, including: Visual indication of who is using the vault; administrator-level ability to log out users; visual indication of user group membership, and support for Windows authentication.

Altium Vault Server - Centralized Supply Chain Management Centralized supply chain management, with the Altium Vault Server dictating which Suppliers are to be used in an organization. The list of Suppliers is configured through the Altium Vault Server's browser-based interface.

Altium Vault Server - Setting up an ODBC Source as an Internal Supplier

Source supply chain data directly from your company's own internal parts database, by linking the Altium Vault Server's local

Part Catalog to an ODBC source, through a Database Link file (*.DbLink).

Altium Vault Server - Visual Indication of Licensing Status

Visual indication of the status of your Altium Vault Server licensing, as part of the vault's properties, as well as indication when licensing expires.

Altium Vault Server - Visual Indication of Current User Visual indication of the current vault user on the Vault and Users views of Altium Designer's Home page, as well as in the Vaults panel.


380 Searching facility in the vault explorer has been enhanced to facilitate the narrowing down of keyword based search results.

568 The enabled state of connected vaults is now properly taken into account across the system.

571 It is now possible to drag and drop components from the vault explorer onto a schematic sheet.

614 The CmpLib Editor user interface has been improved.

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/Batch+Download+of+Items+from+a+Vault

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/Identifying+Out+of+Date+Vault+Items

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/Identifying+Out+of+Date+Vault+Items

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/Ability+to+Set+ID+for+Initial+Revision+of+a+Vault+Item

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/Searching+in+a+Vault

http://wiki.altium.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=44108937

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/Altium+Content+Vault

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/Altium+Vault+Server+-+Administration+Improvements

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/Altium+Vault+Server+-+Centralized+Supply+Chain+Management

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/Altium+Vault+Server+-+Centralized+Supply+Chain+Management#AltiumVaultServer-CentralizedSupplyChainManagement-SODBC

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/Altium+Vault+Server+-+Visual+Indication+of+Current+User

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/Altium+Vault+Server+-+Visual+Indication+of+Current+User



617 The CmpLib editor user interface has been improved with additional editing functions.

668 Lifecycle definition and revision naming schemes can now be modified.

683 When creating cmplib files out of dblibs, the different tables activation statuses are now taken into account.

736 It is now easier to identify items that are out of date in a design or in a cmplib, and to update them to the latest revision.

747 Component definition checkboxes in cmplib editor are now properly taken into account when proceeding with the release of selected components.

753 The item manager now saves and reloads its settings and column sort order.

757 The item manager has now an Apply function which generate the necessary ECOs, executes them and then refreshes the item manager, allowing a steadier workflow.

824 Can now release simulation data/models to a Vault.

845 The choose item revision dialog always displays all revisions appropriately.

860 The intermittent error "failed to move temporary files for revision [revision name]" while releasing footprints, symbols or components does not occur anymore.

861 It is now possible to download from the vault a selection of symbols, footprints and components as libraries.

864 A hang no longer occurs when creating items in a folder with the naming scheme that does not contain curly brackets.

872 Can now successfully opening .cmplib documents when naming scheme does not contain curly brackets.

900 The 'ISC ERROR' when accessing the AVS server license has been fixed.

901 Vault lifecycle definitions and revision schemes are now always visible regardless of system login rights.

904 No error occur when migrating an empty Satellite vault to Personal Vault or Altium Vault Server.

924 It is now possible to set the initial revision ID of an item first revision when it is in the planned state.

936 Vaults now support ODBC connections providing database access to supply chain information.

1010 Can now generate SimModel files from Schematic Libraries and Database Libraries.

1011 The Release Managers now issues a warning about read only files, and does not attempt to process them.

1042 Components containing the # character are now released without issue.

1046 The last selected search result in the vault explorer is now persistent.

1260 Altium Content Vault now benefits from the new search engine.

1271 Altium Shanghai Vault contents have been merged with Altium Content Vault.


13 New live component catalog and BOM capabilities providing 'real time' design cost estimation and availability.

299 Expressions can now be used to define output file names, for PDF outputs.

554 The stability when closing the application has been improved resulting in fewer runtime errors.


756 Item Manager now provides a Report command in the Right Click menu.

773 An error related to _Release.log no longer occurs when trying to release a project that is under version control.

816 Output job generation of print, pdf, and ODB outputs no longer produce unexpected condition for files that are absent from the project.


844 New revisions of vault based component footprints now update correctly when synchronizing a PCB design.

872 Can now successfully opening .cmplib documents when naming scheme does not contain curly brackets.

884 Synchronizing a design that uses designator names like AUX, COM1, COM2 no longer causes a lock up or crash.

905 The Embedded Project Output paths are now saved correctly.

912 Managed sheets are now properly added to version control from the PCB Release view, if needed at release time.

919 Improved loading and navigation of URL based pages.

936 Vaults now support ODBC connections providing database access to supply chain information.



937 A crash occurring with the Navigator panel when application is closing has been resolved through the investigation of crash reports.


1034 It is now easier to choose target folders in the Library splitter wizard and the Library splitter tool of the release manager.

1072 The popup notification indicating a newer version is installed has been removed.

1102 A crash when using the Libraries panel when no libraries are installed has been fixed.

1227 Variant support has been enabled to Step Export option in Output Job. Veiw BugCrunch report #2506.

1287 SmartPDF documents now produce PCB component bookmarks correctly. Veiw BugCrunch report #2792.

1295 The following labs features have been enabled. "AutoRoute On Current Layer", "AutoRoute On Multiple Layers", "Extended C-to-Hardware Features" and "Visual designer for embedded GUI".

1356 The Help menu links for User Forums and SUPPORTcenter have been updated.


298 A new Drill Table object has been added that provides a full display of the drill legend at design time. Use Place>>Drill Table command in the PCB Editor. View BugCrunch report #155.

401 Transparency now works correctly for Via and multi-layer Pad holes.


772 PCB loop removal quality has been improved and no longer rips up unrelated tracks in some situations.


844 New revisions of vault based component footprints now update correctly when synchronizing a PCB design.

854 STEP file export now produces the correct output regardless of computer regional settings.

875 A crash that could occur when analyzing nets containing zero sized primitives has been resolved. View BugCrunch report #2030.

888 Re-ordering the columns in the PCB Rules and Constraints editor no longer causes incorrect rule types to be created.

889 Configure 3D Video output job no longer crashes.

914 A crash in the PCB 3D Video Output Job configuration dialog has been fixed through investigation of a crash report.

917 A crash when cancelling the muti-selection popup in the PCB editor has been fixed through investigation of a crash report.

921 Footprint previously placed from Altium Content Vault can now always be found.

927 Fixed a crash when using the Add/Remove Net to Class commands and the class is not selected in the PCB editor.

1097 Via Stitching placement and editing has been improved with new pattern x,y offset control, added [VS] name visibility and auto-regeneration when via stitch union is re-positioned.

1104 The HUD and PCB Nets panel are now being updated when resizing tracks in the PCB Editor..

1105 The current net length now updates in the PCB Panel and HUD when interactively routing a net, and when interactively modifying an existing route.

1118 'DrillTable' has been removed as a Component Type. The Drill Table is a new PCB object.

1032 A new Design View object has been added that provides a scalable (real time) display and output of a specified area of a PCB design. Use Place>>Design view command in the PCB Editor.

1254 Drill Symbol assignment has been added to the Hole Size Editor.

1310 Polygon pour issue with arcs when created from selected outline has been fixed.

1353 PCB Silk to Solder Mask check performance has been improved when using large negative Solder mask expansions.


892 Progress dialog now always displays when updating plugins. Will take affect once 13.2 update has been installed.

1071 Updates are now only checked when opening the "Updates and plugins" page and user is signed in. The popup notification has been removed.


http://bugcrunch.live.altium.com/#Bug/2792?msgID=7517706

http://bugcrunch.live.altium.com/Bug/155






955 Fixed 3D model loading issue that produced the "Cannot load 3D model from file! error.



571 It is now possible to drag and drop components from the vault explorer onto a schematic sheet.


858 A new option in schematic preferences to control the character used for the designator/part id separator of multipart components.

890 A crash on close depending on arrangement of toolbars/panels and open documents has been fixed after investigation of crash reports.

913 Parameter editing using the Schematic Inspector panel has been fixed. View BugCrunch report #2629.

916 A crash with Schematic Library Report has been fixed after investigation of a crash report.

1003 A crash when selecting two schematic components at the same location has been fixed through investigation of a crash report.

1089 An issue when copying text to clipboard and Clip to Area setting is used in a schematic Text Frame has been fixed.

1168 PDF and print outputs of annotated compiled sheet numbers are now correctly generated. Veiw BugCrunch report #2669.

1169 Saving schematic files that contain Hyperlink objects will now open in AD12 correctly.

System Components: Schematic Support


926 A crash while using the schematic autowirer has been resolved through investigation of a crash report.



298 A new Drill Table object has been added that provides a full display of the drill legend at design time. Use Place>>Drill Table command in the PCB Editor. View BugCrunch report #155 .


Output Generators: Output - ODB

816 Output job generation of print, pdf, and ODB outputs no longer produce unexpected condition for files that are absent from the project.

Output Generators: Output - STEP

871 Status progress information is now displayed when exporting Step files in the PCB Editor. View BugCrunch report #2576 .

Output Generators: Output - Gerber

298 A new Drill Table object has been added that provides a full display of the drill legend at design time. Use Place>>Drill Table command in the PCB Editor. View BugCrunch report #155 .


1228 Gerber output no longer generates incorrect solder mask openings for arcs when the "Use software arcs" option is enabled.








Output Generators: Output - AdvSim


Importers and Exporters: Importer_Accel

1158 A crash when importing P-CAD libraries using the Import Wizard has been fixed.

Importers and Exporters: Importer - Allegro

1238 Allegro importer now converts rounded SMD pads correctly. Veiw BugCrunch report #1626.

FPGA Design Tools: Instrument – Custom

303 The Custom Instrument now displays correctly in the FPGA Devices View.


321 Peripheral register viewing for STM32 is now available.

Hardware Support Packages: Device Support - STMicroelectronics STM32

321 Peripheral register viewing for STM32 is now available.

Altium Designer Version 13.3 – June 13, 2013

Key highlights

The following is a list of key new features and enhancements, delivered in this latest update.

ActiveBOM Enhancements

ActiveBOM enhancements including currency selection, automatic ranking of solutions, Variant support through an OutJob file and improved supplier part choice searching.

Definition of Output Folder Names using Expressions Expressions can now be used to define the names of output folders in OutJob files and 'OutputType' parameter has been added.

Additional Power Object Drawing Styles Additional Schematic Power Object drawing styles to comply with GOST standards.

PCB Enhancements PCB editor enhancements including the arc center point is now included as a movable hot spot and initiating the Differential Pair Routing command no longer highlights only differential pairs.

Schematic Support for Unicode Text The Schematic Editors now support Unicode text, allowing any combination of characters, irrespective of current locale.

PADS and P-CAD Schematic Importer Enhancements PADS and P-CAD schematic importer improvements including option to generate net labels for hidden net names.


http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/ActiveBOM

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/Define+Output+Filenames+using+Expressions

http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/Additional+Schematic+Power+Objects




339 Fixed memory leak leading to application crash with "runtime error 216" while debugging embedded code.

1302 Searching Solutions in Vault and ActiveBOM now uses the Keywords defined in Supplier Preferences.

1361 The Supplier Search dialogs no longer list currencies twice.

1400 The File in Previous Format html report now uses the correct document tab name.

1408 ActiveBOM Production Quantity no longer looses it's focus when typing values.

1413 The Design>>Update ECO process now continues to executes all valid changes regardless if an error is found.

1416 A crash that could occur while matching items within the Item Manager has been resolved.

1417 Floating Panels no longer disappear when File>>Import command is used in PCB Editor. Veiw BugCrunch report #2640.

1420 Expressions can now be used to define output folder names in OutJobs.

1424 BOM Supplier Unit Price is no longer rounded to 2 digits.

1425 ActiveBOM Supply Risk is now updated correctly when Production Quantity is changed.

1454 A crash when removing or renaming documents in a project has been resolved.

1456 OutJob filenames are now generated correctly when using expressions that contain "." characters. Veiw BugCrunch report #2892.

1457 Variant support has been added for ActiveBOM documents in OutJob.

1461 ActiveBOM solutions are now ranked automatically (if no ranking exists) based on order of existing supplier links contained within schematic components.

1463 ActiveBOM now supports currency selection.

1465 ActiveBOM custom solution prices have been increased from 3 to 5 decimal places.

1479 ActiveBOM actual pricing is now calculated correctly when item quantity is below the minimum quantity price.

1494 SUPPORTcenter link in License Management page now opens Support section in AltiumLive.

1499 ActiveBOM is no longer case sensitive when matching Supplier Names in supplier links.

1500 DBLib column visibility and grouping is now remembered when application is closed. Veiw BugCrunch report #3045.

1501 Schematic URL paths and links to directories now open correctly.

1506 Releasing PCB Projects to a Vault now works correctly and does not produce incorrect missing files errors.

1522 ActiveBOM now correctly groups items when updating and Refresh.

1528 ActiveBOM now allows deletion of invalid auto generated solutions.

1535 BOM reports are now being updated correctly when using database parameters.

1581 OutJob now supports the 'Do not Include any output folder' option for Release Managed Folder Structure.

1583 'OutputType' parameter has been added to OutJob expressions.

1594 OutJob now includes both the "Custom prefix_[OutputType]" and "Custom Folder Name" options for Folder Structure Containers

1598 Opening files (referencing file://) and HTML reports (containing special characters) now open correctly within the internal browser.


423 Altium Vault Properties dialog now displays license details.

1023 Vault SimModels have been extended to support Simetrix/Simplis models.

1517 Vault search results are now displayed correctly if order of columns have been changed.

1546 Placing managed sheets from a Vault now uses the correct revision.







1362 Additional styles for Power Ground, Earth and Bar have been added to the Power object in the schematic editor. Veiw BugCrunch report #2246.

1502 Schematic "out of resources" error has been fixed through the investigation of crash reports.

1503 Schematic now supports Unicode text allowing any combination of characters regardless of current locale.

1524 The focus now goes to the Name control when opening the Schematic Port properties dialog. Veiw BugCrunch report #2980.

1546 Placing managed sheets from a Vault now uses the correct revision.


906 Initiating the Differential Pair Routing command in PCB no longer highlights only differential pairs.

1334 Room boundaries are now displayed correctly when they contain arc segments.

1419 PCB dimension objects are now loaded correctly when using Hungarian regional settings. Veiw BugCrunch report #2885.

1405 The PCB display mode no longer changes when unshelving polygons.

1455 Embedded Board Array no longer swaps the column and rows when generating output.

1470 The arc center point is now included as a movable hot spot when moving arcs in the PCB Editor. Veiw BugCrunch report #1512.

1481 When modifying a PCB document the slow updating of Power Planes Connections has been fixed.

1483 PCB expression that use aggregate functions no longer cause "Incorrect definition error".

1484 A crash when saving Show Top Positive option in PCB View Configurations has been resolved.

1486 Fixed slow analyzing nets issue when synchronizing PCB in some situations.

1489 Drill Tables are now displayed correctly in the PCB List Panel.

1516 Changing the Drill Table defaults no longer causes an access violation.


384 FPGA_PCI_CLAMP constraint is correctly generated for Altera devices.

1508 Unknown Status code error upon startup with DT05 and other FTDI based dongles connected has been fixed. Veiw BugCrunch report #2674.

System Components: Soft Design Support

383 Core Generator now accepts hex memory images larger than 256 kB.


1536 Traditional Chinese localization of Altium Designer has been updated.

System Components: Altium Designer Support

1485 Internet connection errors due to firewall or SSL have been fixed.

Importers and Exporters: Importer_Accel

1538 P-CAD Schematic Importer : Can now optionally generate netlabels for hidden net names.










Importers and Exporters: Importer - PADS

1431 PADS Logic Importer : Fixed incorrect Pin and Port orientations.

1435 PADS Logic Importer : Fixed Pin Designator and Name visibility.

1438 PADS Logic Importer : Fixed Footprint model not defined in schematic symbols.

1442 PADS Logic Importer : Fixed positioning of free text, component parameters and designators.

1445 PADS Logic Importer : Fixed polygon fill drawing.

1446 PADS Logic Importer : Fixed Power Port and Net label placement.

1451 PADS Logic Importer : Fixed designator, parameter and text string fonts.

1538 PADS Logic Importer : Can now optionally generate netlabels for hidden net names.

Importers and Exporters: Importer - PCAD ASCII

1433 P-CAD Schematic Importer : Fixed incorrect model names.

1436 P-CAD Schematic Importer : Fixed wire and component primitive widths.

1437 P-CAD Schematic Importer : Fixed text that is inserted into Description field.

1444 P-CAD Schematic Importer : No longer incorrectly changes the schematic grid settings.

1450 P-CAD Schematic Importer : Fixed polygon fill colors.

1452 P-CAD Schematic Importer : Fixed designator, parameter and text string fonts.

1538 P-CAD Schematic Importer : Can now optionally generate netlabels for hidden net names.


1387 Design Views now print correctly when the Mirror option is enabled in the Printout Options dialog.

1458 The .legend is now generated correctly when used with an Embedded Board Array. Veiw BugCrunch report #2924.

1475 Design Views that are disabled are no longer included in the printable area for Fit to Page printouts.

1476 Printing Design Views now print correctly if the top layer is removed from the printout.

1478 Variant Markers are no longer offset when scaled Design Views are printed. Veiw BugCrunch report #2982.

1621 Full arcs are now printed correctly with mirrored Design Views.

Output Generators: Output - Simple BOM


Output Generators: Output - ERC


Output Generators: Output - NC - Drill

1471 NC Drill output generation now ignores placed Design Views.

Output Generators: Output - Testpoint

1471 NC Drill output generation now ignores placed Design Views.







Data Management Packages: Supplier - Farnell

1607 ActiveBOM currency prices for Farnell solutions are now calculated correctly.

Complete list of Altium Designer 13 updates

Documents

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